The
Board of Visitors approved a plan last week to raze New Cabell
Hall (above and right), built 50 years ago to accommodate
the post-World War II boom in students, and replace it with
a 160,000-square-foot new building with classroom and office
space.

Time
to replace New Cabell Hall, Board of Visitors saysPlan would recreate humanities
area at south end of Lawn

Staff
Report

New
Cabell Hall will be demolished and replaced with a new structure
under a plan adopted Oct. 18 by the Board
of Visitors Buildings and Grounds Committee.

Under
the proposed plan, one architectural firm will be hired to design
both the replacement for New Cabell Hall and a new College
of Arts & Sciences building, to be constructed in the
B-1 parking lot. A 400- to 500-car parking garage will be included
in the project, as well as renovations to Cocke and Rouss halls.

The
estimated cost is $126.7 million, of which $61.1 million is slated
to come from private funding, $61.1 million from a combination
of Universsity and state money, and $4.5 million from U.Va.s
Department of Parking
and Transportation.

The
state will probably view the replacement of New Cabell Hall the
same as a renovation, since the University is replacing one 160,000-square-foot
building with another, Sheehy said.

The
timetable adopted by the board calls for the parking garage to
be built by December 2003, the new Arts & Sciences building
by December 2004, the completion of Cocke and Rouss renovations
by 2005 and completion of New Cabell Halls replacement by
2006. Classes would be moved from New Cabell Hall to the new building
across Jefferson Park Avenue while the replacement building is
being constructed.

Under
the resolution adopted by the board, Rector John P. Ackerly will
appoint a steering committee drawn
from the Board of Visitors, the College Foundation and the administration
to oversee the project.

At
the Oct. 18-19 meeting, the Board of Visitors also:


Heard students views on ethical investing


Reviewed budget amendments sent to the state


Were briefed on Virginia 2020 goals

University
Architect Samuel A. Pete Anderson III applauded the
boards actions, saying that it showed board members are
thinking of the south end of the Lawn as a unified entity. It
is important that the two new buildings be considered together.
Its our back door, Anderson said.

This
is the most important step the University has taken in my time,
he said. New Cabell Hall opened in 1951  the same year Anderson
started school here.

Students
on Unocal investments

A
presentation by Abby Fifer, the Student Council president, and
Andrew Price, president of the Free Burma Coalition, loomed as
a possibly controversial entry on the Board of Visitors
agenda Oct. 19. For months, the student groups had lobbied the
board and University administration, urging the University to
divest its financial stake in Unocal, an oil company whose business
practices in Burma are under fire from many human rights groups.

On
Oct. 12, the University announced that it had sold its shares
of Unocal stock, and though the previously scheduled appearance
by Fifer and Price remained on the agenda, it ended up being far
more cordial than confrontational.

Fifer
opened with a goodwill gesture, passing around a cup
full of Student Council pens. She gave a thorough-but-quick rundown
of Student Council activities, then took up the Unocal matter.
Fifer and Price asked the board to consider adopting an ethical
investment policy, perhaps to include an advisory panel of students,
faculty and administrators. They suggested that the board establish
a code of conduct for the Universitys outside investment
firms, and said that if the University chose not to divest its
interests in companies engaging in ethically questionable practices,
it could support shareholder resolutions that addressed the conduct.

Several
board members  many of them businessmen  were effusive
in their praise for the students efforts.

Terrence
Ross, an Alexandria lawyer, lauded the student groups reasoned
and civil discourse, noting that the students had eschewed
confrontational tactics in favor of research and persuasion. I
think Mr. Jefferson would be really proud, he said. I
applaud you. I think this is a great success for you.

Financial
picture

The
Universitys endowment weathered the consequences to the
market from the Sept. 11 terrorist attack without great losses,
University treasurer Alice Handy told the finance committee.

Although
U.Va. didnt make money in the last quarter, it didnt
lose much either, Handy said, and the endowments performance
continues to rank in the top 25 percent of the Universitys
peer group. As of Sept. 30, the endowment total was slightly under
$1.7 billion.

William
H. Goodwin Jr., who chairs the finance committee and the University
of Virginia Investment Management Companys board, said that
only 5 percent of the endowment is available to be reinvested
at any given time, because most of it has to stay in the same
place for at least a year, with some private equities up to seven
years.

Ross
asked if UVIMCO gives specific guidance to its money managers
regarding the ethical business practices of the companies they
invest in. Goodwin replied that beyond broad policies on ethics
and practices, trying to influence the managers on individual
stocks wouldnt be good for working relationships.

The
board also approved the Universitys 2002-04 state budget
requests that went to Richmond this week, and the Universitys
intent to issue bonds for several capital projects. Gov. Jim Gilmores
Blue Ribbon Commission on Higher Education recommended last year
that university and college boards review their administrations
budgets before they are submitted to the state.

Among
the Universitys new requests are $7 million for graduate
student aid, $11.3 million for infrastructure needs, $11.7 million
for Virginia 2020 initiatives, and $13.2 million to be added to
the Universitys base budget over the biennium ($4.4 million
in 2002 and $8.8 million in 2003).

Although
the board doesnt set the tuition prices until April, Colette
Sheehy, vice president for management and budget, gave a preview
of policies and said the board will have to decide what to do
about the serious issue of being able to provide a good
package to get the best graduate students.

In
an effort to provide some relief for the debt that law students
face when they graduate, the Law School will initiate a new loan
forgiveness program for graduates who enter public service or
practice anywhere in Virginia, said Law School dean John C. Jeffries.
For those earning $35,000 or less, the Law School will forgive
student loans as payments come due. For those earning between
$35,000 and $60,000, loan payments will be reduced on a sliding
scale, according to income.

Athletics
funding

Continuing
a dialogue that began almost a year ago, newly promoted Director
of Athletics Craig Littlepage presented the board with a five-year
plan for improving the overall sports program while maintaining
academic excellence, fiscal prudence and compliance with NCAA
and federal regulations.

The
five-year plan calls for $8.3 million in additional operating
support by the 2006 fiscal year ($13.1 million when adjusted for
the anticipated inflation). Of the $13.1 million figure, $3.8
million would be needed just to maintain the current level of
operations. Another $6.3 million would go toward program improvements,
with $3 million to establish a contingency and capital fund.

The
bulk of the additional money would come from increased student
fees ($3.7 million) and private support ($7.2 million). The latter
figure includes $3.6 million in income from a $100 million endowment
the department hopes will be in place by 2006, Littlepage said.

The
plans priorities include maintaining at least the current
level of performance, then providing additional support for academic
advising, sports medicine, the strength and conditioning program,
and budget increases for individual sports.

Health
System update

The
committee received its first look at the current fiscal years
financial report, with two-month figures available through Aug.
31. Overall, revenue was $96 million, expenses were $94 million,
leaving a $2 million operating margin, which is approximately
3 percent below budget. Operating expenses are on track.
Much-needed staff are filling the ranks of nurses and other health
care workers, allowing the Medical Center to open 30 additional
beds.

The
committee also heard a report on the Health Systems new
leadership development program, which builds upon techniques developed
by General Electric. The U.Va. Health System is among the first
academic medical centers to implement the program, which uses
statistically rigorous techniques for analyzing and improving
complex systems and processes.

The
initial areas of focus include emergency department wait times,
radiology MRI film management, orthopedics appointment scheduling
and the discharge cycle. For example, the Medical Center is attempting
to reduce the discharge cycle by three hours on pilot units, which
could result in a net reimbursement increase of $507,060.

Other
educational policy matters


In response to the boards request for more information on
financial aid, Vice President for Finance Yoke San Reynolds presented
figures on what portions of financial aid come from grants and
loans. Replacing almost $8 million in federal student loans with
grants would require setting up an endowment of $157 million,
she said.


Research funding from all sources rose at the University from
$209 million in fiscal year 2000 to $224 million in fiscal year
2001, an increase of 7 percent from year to year and a 59 percent
increase since 1996, according to Vice President and Provost Gene
D. Block. The Department of Health and Human Services and the
National Institutes of Health provided the lions share of
this funding.


Block presented goals for the 2001-02 academic year. They include
the implementation of the Virginia 2020 Commission recommendations
relating to integrated strategic planning, improvements in graduate
programs, improvements in recruitment and retention of women and
minorities, international program planning, and the initiation
of a review of the undergraduate curriculum.


Carl Zeithaml, dean of the McIntire
School of Commerce, noted some of the high points of his five-year
plan, which include working to become the best undergraduate business
program in the world, improvement of graduate and non-degree programs,
and boosting the schools contribution to business knowledge
and innovation.